— Toni Crawford

My answer always is, well, it depends. Okay? And so, you know, generally leftover foods and, and something that's, that's processed is gonna fall into this leftover category. It's, it's processed, it's been handled, and so it's something different from the original date. So I'm gonna call it, uh, a processed or leftover food. All of these things generally last about a week, but a week could really mean, you know, give or take a couple of days depending on what it is. And it could be a lot shorter than that, or a lot longer than that, depending on what it is. And it also depends on the storage conditions. And so, as I mentioned, you know, earlier in today's program, the more you open and close a refrigerator, the more warm air enters and, and the temperature goes up and down, um, you know, the, the, the shelf stability of an item is compromised. Also, if you place an item in the door of the refrigerator, that tends to be the warmest location, right? Versus the, the back of the refrigerator, which tends to be the coldest. So upfront, uh, if the item is not super stable to start with, it's gonna have a, a compromised shelf life. Um, but looking at something like a fruit paste, if it is indeed in a pasty form with relatively low water content, it's gonna have a longer shelf life. Uh, the higher the water content, the greater the opportunity for, uh, bacteria and mold to multiply, and therefore the shorter the shelf life. So there are a lot of variables here to consider Tony. And, uh, the, the best thing is to keep the one week guideline in mind and make as much as you're going to use within that period of time. Otherwise, you know, you do risk this decline in quality. Now, an alternative, of course, is to hold things in the freezer, and the freezer is, uh, a great tool, uh, or piece of equipment. Uh, if we can use it strategically, and that means that, uh, it, it, the items should take a round trip right into the freezer and then back out again so that we can use it at some point. And I, I say this be from my own experience, where certain things will take a one way trip to the freezer and they get lost and, you know, overlooked, and all of a sudden they're, you know, freezer burnt or dried out in some way and really not fit for consumption. And, um, so label things, date them, put them in the ffr in the freezer, and check back on it periodically so that you can use it within a couple of weeks or a couple of months or so, while, you know, the, uh, quality of that food item is still good. Okay? So, Tony, a lot of things to consider, but I hope you can keep those in mind as you manage, not just fruit paste, but all the other things in your inventory.